OU to Open Old Spice Classic Against UTEP

By Athletics Communications

University of Oklahoma

JULY 26, 2012

July 26, 2012

NORMAN, Okla. -- The Oklahoma men's basketball team will open the 2012 Old Spice Classic by playing UTEP on Thursday, Nov. 22 (Thanksgiving Day). The bracket for the eight-team tournament near Orlando, Fla., was announced today by ESPN Regional Television.

The OU-UTEP matchup will start at 6 p.m. CT and be televised by ESPN2. The Miners, coached by Tim Floyd, went 15-17 last year and finished tied for eighth place in the 12-team Conference USA after recording a 7-9 league record. They return seven of their top nine scorers from last season, including leading scorer and rebounder John Bohannon. The 6-10 center averaged 11.5 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting .585 from the field.

The winner of the OU-UTEP game will play the winner of the Clemson-Gonzaga first-round matchup on Friday, Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2. The first-round losers will meet Nov. 23 at 4:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Clemson finished 16-15 last year while Gonzaga posted a 26-7 record and went 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament.

The other side of the bracket has West Virginia (19-14) meeting Marist (14-18) and Vanderbilt (25-11) taking on Davidson (25-8) in the opening round. The championship game is set for Sunday, Nov. 25, at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2. All games will be played at HP Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

The entire tournament will be available for viewing through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com and through smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider. The on-site games from the Old Spice Classic will air on ESPN3D.

This will mark the seventh year of the Old Spice Classic. Previous winners include Arkansas in 2006, North Carolina State in 2007, Gonzaga in 2008, Florida State in 2009, Notre Dame in 2010 and Dayton last season.

Old Spice Classic sponsors include Old Spice, ESPNU and ESPN's Wide World of Sports. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) will serve as the event's sponsoring conference for the seventh straight year. The tournament is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN.

The Sooners return 88 percent of their scoring, 81 percent of their rebounding and 78 percent of their assists from last year's 15-16 team.

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